‘Feel sorry for the fans’ – Shearer and Wright slam West Ham after bore-draw v Shrewsbury

BBC Sport pundits Alan Shearer and Ian Wright have slammed West Ham for their performance during their 0-0 draw away at Shrewsbury Town in the FA Cup on Sunday.

In a game lacking in clear cut chances, the Hammers struggled to break down the League One side, with just five shots on target shared between the two sides.

It was Joe Hart, the former Shrewsbury star, who was the busier of the two goalkeepers, pulling off some smart stops to deny the side sitting second in England’s third tier from pulling off a shock result.

He was one of a handful of changes made to the starting XI by David Moyes, although only three of those would be considered on the fringes of the Hammers’ senior squad, the rest established stars.

As a result of the experience on the pitch, Wright slammed them for their sub-par performance, insisting that the fans would have been expecting much more from their club.

Speaking on BBC Sport’s coverage of the clash (BBC One, 07/01, 13:40), the former Arsenal man said: “When you look at the calibre of the players they did have out there, only four players were missing, you’d have thought that they would have passed with a little bit more intensity.

“The frontmen weren’t even close enough to get on the wavelength to even try and work the two centre halves.

“Shrewsbury deserved it (a draw) but West Ham, a terrible performance, I feel sorry for the fans.”

Meanwhile Shearer was quick to criticise the work ethic shown by several of the Hammers’ players, although took the time out to sing the praises of Hart and the youngsters who had been brought into the side by David Moyes.

“They were very poor,” he told BBC Sport’s coverage of the third round tie.

“You can put up with a poor touch, that happens, but when there was a lack of effort, and there was a lack of effort from a few players today in that West Ham team.

“Joe Hart is the one big plus, he had a could of good saves and a clean sheet, and the youngsters as well, but other than that nothing.”

West Ham’s next game sees them take on Huddersfield in the Premier League, knowing that three points against the Terriers would see them leapfrog them and climb up the table away from the relegation battle, as they currently sit 15th.